Majority of Americans Support Federal Nondiscrimination Protections for LGBTQ People

Seventy percent (70%) of all Americans say that a federal law is needed to protect LGBT people from discrimination in employment, public accommodations, housing and credit, according to a new survey conducted by The Harris Poll®. This reflects a slight increase from 2016, when a similar Out & Equal commissioned Harris Poll survey reported 67% of Americans in favor of this policy.

Significantly, and by a similar margin, 68% of Americans say they are likely to shop at or support businesses that take a public stance in support of LGBTQ equality. These and other poll results were reported in the 2018 Out & Equal Workplace Survey, released in part today. This study was conducted online between September 13 and 17, by The Harris Poll® in conjunction with Out & Equal Workplace Advocates among 2,006 U.S. adults, of whom 184 self-identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or transgender. First launched in 2002, the unique Out & Equal Workplace Survey is a highly trusted barometer of attitudes surrounding LGBTQ issues in the workplace and the longest-running national opinion survey of its kind.

Erin Uritus, CEO of Out & Equal Workplace Advocates, which commissioned this research in partnership with The Harris Poll®, reacted to the outcomes: “What began as a ripple two decades ago is now a sea change in corporate America. The mission of Out & Equal has always been to educate, advocate and transform workplaces – and today we congratulate corporate leaders transforming our society with their outspoken dedication to equality.” Uritus added, “We see unmistakable evidence here that Americans strongly favor businesses, with their wallets and their words, when those businesses also stand up for equality principles.”

TRANSGENDER WORKPLACE RESPECT AND FAIRNESS
The newest Harris Poll research for Out & Equal also revisited 2016 attitudes on employer responsibilities towards their transgender workers, specifically finding that:
• 74% Americans believe employers should learn everyone’s pronouns and preferred name and use them in the workplace (73% in 2016).
• 65% Americans believe that employers should intervene when an employee regularly misuses a co-worker’s pronouns or preferred name (63% in 2016).
• 58% Americans believe that regularly misusing a colleague’s pronouns or preferred name is a form of workplace harassment (59% in 2016).
• Significantly, 54% Americans believe employers should make health insurance coverage available to transgender people who wish to seek gender affirmation surgery (44% in 2016).

The 2018 survey explored new ground as well by asking Americans their perceptions of gender identity, with 4 out of 10 believing that one is either exclusively male or female, but nearly one-third (31%) concluding that there is not an exclusive binary definition of gender. One quarter (28%) of those surveyed say they are not sure.

LGBT AMERICANS MORE LIKELY TO MOVE OR CONSIDER MOVES TO ACCEPTING COMMUNITIES

Half of LGBT Americans (51%) surveyed say they have moved or considered a move to new locations to live in a community more accepting of all sexual orientations/gender identities. In contrast, 89% of non-LGBT Americans say they have not moved nor considered such a move for those reasons.

2018 Out & Equal Workplace Summit
The 2018 Out & Equal Workplace Summit takes place this week in Seattle, Washington, successfully attracting a record 6,000 attendees from more than 32 countries. LGBTQ executives, employees and straight allies, along with human resources and diversity professionals, representing a broad cross-section of the nation’s leading companies—a majority from the Fortune 500 — are participating in this year’s Summit, focused on achieving workplace equality and inclusion.